WellBeing International WBI Studies Repository 2014 “I am a Vegetarian”: Reflections on a aW y of Being Kenneth J. Shapiro Animals and Society Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://www.wellbeingintlstudiesrepository.org/acwp_aafhh Part of the Animal Studies Commons, Other Anthropology Commons, and the Other Nutrition Commons Recommended Citation Shapiro, K. J. (2014). “I am a Vegetarian”: Reflections on a aW y of Being. Society & Animals, 1, 20. This material is brought to you for free and open access by WellBeing International. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of the WBI Studies Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. “I am a Vegetarian”: Reflections on a Way of Being Kenneth Joel Shapiro Animals and Society Institute
[email protected] Abstract Employing a qualitative method adapted from phenomenological psychology, the paper presents a socio- psychological portrait of a vegetarian. Descriptives are a product of the author’s reflection on (dialogue with) empirical findings and published personal accounts, interviews, and case studies. The paper provides evidence for the hypothesis that vegetarianism is a way of being. This way of experiencing and living in the world is associated with particular forms of relationship to self, to other animals and nature, and to other people. The achievement of this way of being, particularly in the interpersonal sphere, comprises an initial, a transitional, and a crystallizing phase of development. The paper frames contrasts between vegetarianism and carnism through the phenomena of the presence of an absence and the absent referent, respectively. Keywords vegetarianism, qualitative analysis, phenomenology, absent referent Giehl (1975), Aronson (1996), Fox (1999), McDonald (2000), Evers (2001), Maurer (2002), and Hirschler (2009) have all suggested that, beyond the adoption of a particular dietary regimen, the psychology of vegetarianism involves a particular way of being or experiencing the world.